Democracy, Land and Liberation in Africa Today: Bridging Past and Present Scholarship

The main focus of this colloquium is to celebrate and honour the life and work of one of Africa's longest serving scholar, teacher, researcher and activist, the late emeritus Professor, Lionel Cliffe, who passed away on 24 October 2013. Although Professor Lionel Cliffe's work on Africa encompassed a wide range of issues, the themes of this colloquium perfectly sum up the body of his work. Lionel's academic work on Africa can be grouped into three broad themes: Agrarian political Economy, Liberation Struggles and Democracy in Africa. His work addressed political economy issues in general and agrarian political economy in particular. The latter is a theme that runs through Lionel's work in Africa from the early 1960s until his death. Lionel was not just an academic, but also an engaged activist involved in various liberation struggles on the continent (arrested and jailed at some point), especially in Southern and Eastern Africa, and used his home in Sheffield (UK), to host academics and activists alike.

Many people who have commented on Lionel's life and work in obituaries and memorials on Facebook and Twitter, have described him as someone whose life was passionately dedicated not just towards the study, but also the liberation of Africa from foreign domination, poverty, discrimination and injustice. In 1972, together with other scholars working on Africa, he founded a journal, dedicated to promoting reflection and debate on Africa's political, social and economic issues. In 2002 the African Studies Association UK (ASAUK), in recognition of his long-serving work and contribution to research on Africa, awarded him the It is with great honour and privilege that we dedicate this colloquium to the life and work of the late Professor Lionel Cliffe.